Gap Inc. made so many announcements this week that even we found it hard to keep up. Number one, the company said it will close about half of its 500ish Gap stores over the next two years. Number two, it will spin off the thriving Old Navy brand into a separate publicly traded company. Number three, it will purchase the Janie and Jack kids’ clothing chain from bankrupt Gymboree Group. Meanwhile, Gymboree Group got some other good news when rival retailer The Children’s Place announced plans to purchase and “revitalize” what’s left of the Gymboree brand. Does that mean the Gymboree stores are no longer going out of business? The answer isn’t clear yet — and all these plans still have to go through bankruptcy court.
